VARIATIONS OF SYMBOLISM: A. MIRE AND N. PETROVSKAYA (BASED ON THE COLLECTIONS “BLACK PANTHER” AND “SANCTUS AMOR”)

Abstract

The article is dedicated to two female writers of the Silver Age – N.I. Petrovskaya (1879–1928) and A. Mire (A.M. Moiseeva, 1874–1913). Both masters of the pen can be classified as peripheral participants in the literary process of the late 19th – early 20th centuries. The comparative analysis focuses on the stories included in Petrovskaya’s only lifetime collection “Sanctus Amor” (1908) and the stories that make up Mire’s second collection “Black Panther” (1909). The works under study are examined as examples of women’s symbolist prose. The artistic “kinship” of the mentioned collections manifests not only at the structural level but also in their thematic commonality. A comparison of the texts by Petrovskaya and Mire helped uncover similar motifs, images, and details – in other words, creative resonances. Additionally, the article highlights the artistic specificity of each collection. The conclusion drawn is that Mire and Petrovskaya offered their original variations of Symbolist prose.